Garmin always-on display, explained
Always-on display keeps the watch screen showing the time between glances, instead of waking only on a wrist raise. Whether it is worth the battery depends entirely on your screen.
What it is
With always-on enabled, the face stays visible at all times. With it off, the screen sleeps and lights up when you raise your wrist or tap it. Either way the watch keeps tracking — this is only about the display.
The battery trade-off
On MIP screens, always-on is essentially free, so most owners leave it on. On AMOLED screens it costs real power, because lit pixels draw current. That is why a good AMOLED face dims and simplifies in always-on mode — a large outlined time, low brightness, fewer lit pixels — to stay within Garmin's rules and protect battery and the panel. Not sure which screen you have? See AMOLED vs MIP.
How a good face handles it
- Switches to a dim, outlined layout when your wrist is down.
- Keeps lit pixels low (well under the brightness Garmin allows for always-on).
- Drops animation and heavy data while asleep, then restores the full design on a wrist raise.
How to turn it on or off
Go to Settings → Watch Face → (your face) → Always On, or on some models Settings → System → Display → Always On Display. Many faces also have their own “dim in always-on” option in the Connect IQ app.
Worried about the cost? Read do Garmin watch faces drain battery? — the short version is that a battery-smart face barely moves the needle.